1. ATTRACTING AND ENGAGING VISITORS
2. ATMOSPHERE, PRESENTATION AND INTERPRETATION
3. HANDS ON APROACH TO EDUCATION AND SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY
4. DEMOCRACY, TOLERANCE, AND SUSTAINABILITY
The beauty of Casa Batlló is a constant source of inspiration for those of us who work here. This monument, a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 2005, is a priceless legacy of Gaudí that we must protect and share. Since I took over in 2014, we have focused on three key areas: the restoration of the building, the creation of an innovative cultural experience and an organisational approach based on self-management and inclusion.
The restoration, which began in 2017, has restored the building to its original splendour. We have recovered stucco, gold leaf patterns, stone, wood, glass and ceramics, restoring elements such as wainscoting and original lamps. The restoration of the main façade in 2019 was a titanic task that we are continuing to show the best version of Casa Batlló. In 2021, we present an innovative cultural experience that includes unexplored areas, new narrative and soundtrack, augmented reality, immersive rooms and magical paintings. This has established Casa Batlló as an exceptional cultural experience.
Our new purpose is to “make people happy through art”, both for our visitors and for those of us who work here. We adopted an inclusive approach, being the first museum with more than 60 neurodivergent people in visitor service positions. Our commitment is to continue to share Gaudí’s beauty with the world, to be the change we want to see in the world.
GARY GAUTIER
Welcome to Casa Batlló, a world heritage site full of art, creativity and inspiration that lives its maximum splendour since Antoni Gaudí created it in 1906. Get inspired by this introduction of this magical house museum located in the heart of Barcelona.
Casa Batlló develops broad and diverse content focusing on raising awareness of Gaudí’s legacy, World Heritage, and Culture. We aim to inspire people through art with a highly committed and sustainable management model.
Casa Batlló’s cultural experience goes beyond the classical visit of a museum or monument, responding to different needs and audiences, and maintaining the innovative spirit embedded in the building, built by Gaudí over a century ago.
We have developed a unique Visitor Experience Cycle that cares for visitors at every step of their tour: before, during, and after the visit, attending to them through different channels, both in person and online.
Our team analyzes daily feedback from visitors through satisfaction surveys and direct observation of our staff. A specialized group meets daily to implement agile improvements in real time.
We participate in international debates regarding the role of the museums in society establishing dialogues with the museum and heritage sector worldwide. We develop conversations with our followers and visitors through digital channels.
The museum experience stimulates all possible senses through surrounding sound, volumetric projections, olfactory proposals, and visual harmony of the house’s rooms and exhibitions. The aggregate approach amplifies the spirit of the site, creating an unforgettable and inspiring visit.
Via our humanist curatorship, we have created an emotional visitor-centered experience that engages analogical and digital-born audiences. Invisible technologies give life to different ephemeral installations the visitor discovers in the museum.
Following Gaudí’s spirit of striving for excellence in a wide range of creative fields and constructing a comprehensive and multivocal narrative, we invited outstanding contemporary artists from diverse backgrounds to intervene in the house and the visit, reinterpreting Gaudí’s legacy from different disciplines.
DANI HOWARD REFIK ANADOL KENGO KUMA
We conceive heritage as a social process because people are fundamental to its preservation. Placing the visitor at the center of the cultural experience helps Gaudí’s legacy convene into the conversation and make his innovative nature eternal.
After Casa Batlló’s extensive reform in 2021, we have received diverse praise and recognition, and been awarded by multiple entities, most notably the Museum+Heritage Awards for Best International Exhibition 2022.
TESTIMONY OF E. OTTONE CASA BATLLÓ AWARDS INTERNATIONAL EXHIBITION OF 2022
Casa Batlló’s youngest visitors receive a Virtual Reality Tablet that guides them through their visit and gamifies the architect’s creative universe. Furthermore, we provide periodicals, workshops, and drawing contests that encourage their creativity. Also, admission is free for children up to 12 years old.
From pre-school to university, Casa Batlló personally attends educators offering value-added content to their visits. We expand our educational project with new cross-cutting, inclusive, and multidisciplinary content where values such as sustainability and tolerance stand out.
Casa Batlló Apprenticeship and UNESCO World Heritage Volunteers Programs are platforms that support young professionals in heritage-related fields that are looking to enhance their competencies, abilities, and knowledge in a high-performance and multidisciplinary environment.
Casa Batlló spotlights local crafts and traditions. We support local artisans through restoration efforts and selling their products in our Store. Every Saint George Day, the façade is covered in roses, transforming locals’ sense of belonging to the house and preserving longstanding city traditions.
Casa Batlló reopened with a neurodivergent team that attends visitors from the beginning to the end of their cultural visit. Beyond giving support to diversity and inclusivity, we’ve become a platform that spotlights the issue and exemplifies impactful change.
We use the TEAL organisation model, which adopts a human-centered approach based on the proposals of Frédéric Laloux. This involves employees in decisionmaking and encourages their creative development, implementing personal growth and wellbeing initiatives.
We raise awareness on Human Rights, e.g., LGBTQI+, Autism, and Gender Equality, among others, with campaigns and special façade illuminations. We are currently closing collaboration with the Red Cross to grant access to refugees’ families from the war in Ukraine.
Casa Batlló is a World Heritage Site open to all. Our audioguide holds a content proposal translated for most of the world. Fifteen languages help us disseminate World Heritage values bringing Gaudí’s legacy to millions of people in their mother tongue.
To promote cultural exchange, we organize multiple musical and artistic events, international celebrations such as Chinese and Korean New Years’, and traveling exhibitions worldwide. We also offer Casa Batlló space for artists to create or exhibit their works.
We participate in social, environmental, and economic initiatives framed within the roadmap of the 2030 Agenda and the SDGs promoted by the UN, leading us to achieve the Biosphere certificate from 2019 until the present.
Since 1906, Casa Batlló has been an avant-garde, pioneering, and innovative work resulting from human creative genius and the extraordinary union of diverse talents that have fused beauty with functionality.
As heir to this historical legacy of worldwide relevance, the 21st-century Casa Batlló respects its history and remains faithful to Gaudí’s original values. To this end, we create unforgettable experiences for different audiences with the passion and commitment of a large team of collaborators and a people-centered perspective, both those who visit us and work in and for it.
We build the future of this work of universal value every day, inspired by the House itself, looking with optimism and responsibility at the new challenges that involve preserving this World Heritage site. At the same time, we spread its beauty, magic and the happiness it causes in people worldwide.
We know it is a challenging task and it never ends. Still, we are motivated to continue building history and honoring the legacy that we are fortunate and committed to preserving for the benefit of all humanity.
